Top-100 ’26 LB Cincere Johnson Names Louisville to Top Schools

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Louisville football program is continuing to make progress with some of the top prospects in the Class of 2026.

On Friday, Cleveland (Oh.) Glenville linebacker Cincere Johnson announced his list of top ten schools, and the Cardinals were among the lucky teams still in the running for his commitment.

It won’t be easy to land Johnson. Alabama, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford and Texas A&M also made the cut.

Fortunately, there are some family ties that could work in Louisville’s favor, as he is the younger brother of current Cardinals offensive lineman Fred Johnson. He’s already made one unofficial visit to campus, watching UofL’s 62-0 season-opening win over Austin Peay.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Johnson ranks as high as the No. 74 prospect in the cycle, according to On3’s in-house rankings. The 247Sports Composite tabs him as the seventh-ranked linebacker and 108th-ranked prospect in the nation.

Johnson put up video game-like numbers for Glenville during his junior season. He collected a whopping 205 tackles, 41 of which were for a loss, 8.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumbles recovered for touchdowns and two pass breakups.

So far, Louisville holds five of commitments in the Class of 2026: Chiefland (Fla.) HS edge rusher Jon Adams, Aurora (Ind.) South Dearborn linebacker Brady Ballart, Crestwood (Ky.) South Oldham defensive lineman Sam Dawson, Fort Thomas (Ky.) Highlands offensive lineman Max Merz, Galloway (Oh.) Westland two-way prospect Emoni Smith.

(Photo of Cincere Johnson via On3)

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